Steps to Choosing the Right Parking Lot and Area Light

All commercial property owners might be considering converting over to LED. Outdoors, they may have Metal Halide Shoebox lights that are consuming 400W to 1000W each, and so installing new LED Outdoor Lights Led Lights Sydney in their parking areas makes sense, right? 

So what do you need to know? What should you consider? How do you get started? There's a lot of information out there.

Distribution patterns?

New or retrofit?

How many LED watts do I need to replace these lights?

Well, we try to address all those issues here in our definitive LED Guide to Parking Lot Fixtures.

Here are 9 steps you need to consider to help make your decision before you convert over to LED Lights in your parking lot.

1. Do you really need to upgrade your parking lot to LED?

To answer this question you have to understand what your payback is. Payback is a simple calculation that determines, Led Lights Sydney  based on the savings, how long it will take you to recoup your investment. There are many things to take into account to determine your actual cost. These include:

cost of the fixture.

cost of installation.

cost of disposal of your existing fixtures.

amount of rebate your utility company will provide you to convert over to LED .

So how do you calculate your savings? First you have to understand:

the current wattage of your fixtures, including ballast draw. This is simply calculated. Take the wattage of the bulb and multiply it by 1.15. That will give you the power consumption of each    Led Lights Sydney fixture.

understand your cost of electricity. It's your cost per kw/h, which typically ranges between .06 to .30.

How many hours a day do you run your lights? 3 hours? 12 hours? 24 hours?

Some simple guidelines:

if your cost per kw/h is high, then it may make sense to convert.

if your hours of usage is high, then it may make sense to convert.

if you are getting a good rebate from your utility, then it may make sense to convert.

if you have a combination of the above items, then it probably makes real good sense to convert to LED.

Need help? We can help. We do this every day, for many customers. We can help you with your payback calculation.

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2. Does the area have existing lights or will you be adding new lights?

If you already have existing Led Lights Sydney, then converting to LED will be a lot simpler and less costly than if you are thinking about adding lighting to an unlit area. The reasons are obvious you can reuse existing poles and if you retrofit, existing fixtures and you do not have to rewire. Converting to LED will actually put less demand on your existing circuits.

If you are thinking about adding light to an area, Led Lights Sydney  its obvious you will have to add poles, wiring to service the poles, and permits.

Using a good general contractor or electrical contractor in your area will help you manage the new project. Replacing existing lights is typically a much easier project that typically does not require permission. Led Lights Sydney

So what information do you need to gather before you start your project?

What type of fixture do you have? If you are not sure, take a picture.

How is this fixture mounted? To a pole, to a wall? What is the fixture mounting type? Slip fitter? Trunnion? Unsure? Take a picture. A good LED sales person should be able to instantly identify what you have. Led Lights Sydney

What type of light bulb do you have? Metal Halide, High Pressure Sodium?

How many watts? 400W? 1000W?

What is the line voltage? 277V? 480V? Single phase or three phase?

What is your cost of electricity?

Which is your utility company?

How many hours a day do you run your lights?

Do you currently use controls, like photocells or timers? Would you like to? This can save you even more money.

How do you feel about your existing lighting? Good enough? Too bright? Not bright enough? All this can be addressed with the new solution. Led Lights Sydney

How good are your existing fixtures? Will they last another 10 years? Maybe retrofitting makes sense for you.

3. The different mounting types for your outdoor shoebox lights

Understanding how your fixtures mount to your existing poles and walls is paramount to converting over to LED. Nothing is more frustrating than getting your lights out to your facility only to find out you need a slip fitter but thought you had a trunnion mount. Led Lights Sydney  The electrician will have to go home, be rescheduled and either new lights need to be ordered or you will have to replace the mounting on the lights that were sent. Knowing what you have, and ordering the right parts, will save you time, money, and aggravation. Led Lights Sydney

Slip Fitter

                This type of mount allows for the fixture to be mounted on a bull horn. The slip fitter inserts onto the tenon. Tenons tend to be around 2 3/8" in diameter. Led Lights Sydney

Trunnion

                This type of mount bolts to a pole, and arm or a wall. These are typically associated with flood lights, and the trunnion adjusts to accommodate different installation needs. Sometimes, this is also referred to as a yoke mount. Led Lights Sydney

Straight Arm

                This type bolts to a light pole. There are adapters for round poles as well. Poles that accept straight arms are typically pre-drilled to match the bolt pattern of the straight arm. Led Lights Sydney